Dunfleasel
Dunfleasel is a medium-sized country near the Trade Lake's south shore, bounded by Lacrive, Gabrainn, Faramond, Scanbrough and Falsil. Dunfleasel was originally part of Faramond, but grew apart due to a difference in culture, and seceded shortly after Gabrainn. Geography Dunfleasel is a rough, hilly country on the edge of the Trade Lake basin. Though mostly on the Trade Lake side of the hills, the eastern edge of the country is hotter and dryer as it fades into Suren's Desert. Most settlements lie in valleys between the hills, or on the mostly-flat western edges of the hills due to the lack of manpower and technical knowledge required to build on slopes. As such, most of the country is not arable - though with the advent of terrace farming, this will not be the case for long. Settlements in Dunfleasel can be split into those in the highlands of the Dale Hills - Armel, Greylin, Eastlee, Beyham and Welldale - and those in the western and northern lowlands - Northnasloe, Packmoor, Greenal and Limebridge. History Dunfleasel first came about as an idea - in the early to mid-7th Century, Faramond was flagging after the disastrous Scanbroughan Secession. The lords of the Dale Hills, especially the Dukes of Armel and Berham, wanted independence from the supposedly-cursed reign of King Aylard Rancorde. It was said that Faramond would come crashing around his ears, and the lords of the Hills wanted nothing to do with this. So they set their scholars to work. The learned men of the Dale Hills spent over a dozen careful years collecting and collating evidence of a Dale Hills nation. They reasoned that, during the Great Gap, there had been a kingdom in the Dale Hills named Dunfleasel. Where there was no real evidence, it was fabricated. And finally, in 644, The Duke of Armel presented this evidence to King Arnulf III and demanded independence, as was their legal right. King Arnulf was forced to accept, though he negotiated four years before independence was granted. This period was used to familiarise both Faramond and Dunfleasel with their new political and economic situations. As such, Dunfleasel fared better in its initial years than its neighbour Gabrainn, which demanded immediate independence in 645 and suffered for it. Dunfleasel became a Kingdom, with its seat initially in Berham. Here, the Kings of the Erlinghard dynasty reigned for twenty years, until the fledgling nation was challenged by neighbouring Falsil. The Sultans of Falsil, by tradition, claimed dominion over 'the vast and good lands betwixt the Dale Hills and the Prye River'. This meant they laid claim to Berham, Grisloe, and Orsham, and knew that these were no longer under the protection of the Kingdom of Faramond. In 659 Falsil invaded, but Dunfleasel was supported by Gabrainn and Faramond. And after two years of campaign and counter-campaign, Falsil signed a peace in which it took only the three towns it claimed. After the Sultan's War, Dunfleasel initially plotted to reclaim the towns Falsil had taken. But the Dunn population was spent, and any posturing the Dunn noblemen made was answered in kind by Falsil and its allies Roumidia and Tadmor. Tensions have since subsided, and Dunfleasel has been externally at peace since, though internal wars still rage between the counts and barons of Dunfelasel.Category:Countries